Richard B the EMT

R. Quincy? Must have missed that episode. As stated, perhaps his first name was actually Doctor, as Columbo's first name was Lieutenant.

DwayneEMTB, you just illustrated why FDNY EMS only runs pairs of Paramedics, instead of the so called MensaMedics: If even the best Paramedic in our system has a bad day attempting establishing an IV line, the partner can then attempt one.

How long did it take to realize the "M-T" marking was as read, the tank was EMPTY? When I acted as quartermaster for my Vollie ambulance, someone actually asked me to check all the tanks with a chalked "M-T" marking on them, as they had no pressure. When I explained it to her, she, and several others in the room, simultaneously smacked their foreheads with the palm of their hand!

A guy I used to know met up with a shark while both were swimming. The guy is now missing, as something he disagreed with, ate him. I was on a "party fishing" boat, and, while 40 miles out, another passenger fell overboard. Immediately, a large school of sharks started circling him, but none attacked. Turns out the man overboard was a lawyer, and the sharks gave him a professional courtesy.

Someone refresh my memory on this: What is the expected shelf life of a bottle of Nitro pills? My reason for asking is, if the presumed seal on the medical box is not broken, how long before anyone checks any of the meds for an expiration date, if at all?

We shall agree to disagree, as suicide is not funny. I have lost at least 5 friends and colleagues to suicide. One of them, so many of us saw the signs and yet did nothing, like giving away his stuff, and posting a "Premise History" in the computer, that when someone typed in for his address on the computer assisted dispatch system, a message would come up saying the address was that of a Member Of Service. That message of it being an MOS was set to expire 2 days after his body was found. 2 of them "chewed a handgun barrel". Another, after turning off the heat, and opening the house windows during a single digit temperature cold spell, injected air into his arm. They found him when the water from the frozen to broken water pipes started flowing into the street. Forgive me if I don't join in the laughter on suicides. I'll save my laughing on deaths, in a limited fashion, to those mentioned in the "Darwin Awards.

Could someone more familiar with commercial aircraft answer this related question: Supposedly, there were at least 2 portable Oxygen tanks and associated setups on board the jet. Now, from the few times I have flown, the cabin crews always give the safety lecture, including putting on that mask when it drops down from the ceiling, before assisting your seatmates in putting theirs on, should the occasion arise. I remember, from the summer I worked for Allied Aviation Services, at JFK, seeing a maintainance crew change a really large O2 tank, used for these emergency masks. Now, if the portables were really empty, is it possible for the flight crew (the guys in the cockpit, not the cabin attendants) to manually trigger the masks to drop, starting the flow of the Oxygen? Or was that just a dramatic device used on, I think, the "Quincy, ME" show?

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer One of the AOL search returns for information on Autism. Just trying to be helpful.

OUCH!! Ya gots me, Jess! but good!

I worked at the NY Post from 1964 to 1969, a long time before the paper was bought by that guy, Rupert Murdock, and ruined it's reputation. (Oh, all right, I was a newspaper delivery boy!)

Sounds like a throwback to the old string on what we call ourselves when talking about ourselves at the cocktail party, again. Anyway, thanks, Dust, for the updating.

The NY Post's rep is such, that, while what I now tell probably did NOT happen, it COULD! A patient raped a nurse at a psychiatric hospital, and escaped. The New York Post banner headline read I have not heard of this lawsuit, and I work at FDNY Headquarters, however, I don't disallow the possibility that one of the non-FDNY EMS units, either hospital based, or contract ambulance to a hospital, both under control (really?) of the 9-1-1 system's FDNY EMD, might be the actual unit involved, if such incident actually happened.

I was the "one of our own" in May of 2007. I actually fell sick, needing hospitalization, while at the FDNY EMS Academy at Fort Totten, Bayside, New York, during EMT Refresher classes (SOB, with a known cardiac history). Here I am, an FDNY EMS personnel, at an FDNY EMS facility, with an FDNY EMS station on the campus. Who transported me to the hospital? A Paramedic team from Flushing Hospital! They are under 9-1-1 FDNY EMD control, but are not members of the FDNY or FDNY EMS. This got the FDNY EMS Academy staff, both BLS, ALS, and the Academy supervisors so angry, they now have one of the training ambulances, and several of the Paramedic staff set up as a "Go" unit and team, strictly for taking care of "Our Own" at the Academy. There is some spillover from this. At FDNY headquarters, where we can have sick EMTs, Paramedics, Fire Fighters, Fire Marshals, and the civilian staff in the building, any request for an ambulance is now supposed to be responded to by an FDNY EMS ambulance, not one from Long Island College Hospital, or the Metrocare contract ambulance from Brooklyn Hospital. Nothing says that the patient won't go to these hospitals, just that they will try to use one of our own ambulances from the FDNY EMS station at the Cumberland Family Care Center. Side note: On November 9, 2007, while working a special detail at the FDNY EMS station on the grounds of the Kings County Hospital, just about 400 feet from that hospital's ED, I tripped and fell, sustaining an injury. Here I was, surrounded by FDNY EMS, Fire Fighters, and Bureau of Health Services Doctors and Nurses, again, at an FDNY facility, and the ambulance that transported me up the hill to the ED was...an AMR contract ambulance from Kingsbrook Jewish Hospital!

I'm going to keep this one simple: If the patient did an unsuccessful attempt at suicide, NEVER tell them a better way, as you might be the "ripped from the headlines" influence to a "Law and Order" plot line. You might be held responsible for giving the patient a "How-to" guide on killing themselves. Suicide is only funny in one line of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Mikado", where it is stated the punishment for suicide is death.

This is going off topic: While the USAF USED to be a part of the US Army, they are a separate agency now. I think the USAF version of a/an Army MP (Military Police) is a/an AP ("Air Police"). The US Navy has SP (Shore Patrol) for, obviously, patrolling on shore, and unless I was misinformed, they are armed only with batons/nightsticks. On ships, they have "Masters at Arms", or Marines to do Police duties. If I am wrong on any of this, please correct me. We now return to the topic at hand...

I quoted another musical submission before posting my own submission. Somehow, you forgot to reprint the quoted quote. (did I just say "quoted quote"? Guess I did)

Know-it-all that I sometimes profess to be, and being Jewish, I cannot recall ever hearing that one, although it makes sense. ...And Lizzieborden? You and your partner, per your retelling here, done did good! (bad grammar intended!)

Someone commented that the police don't use the BDU/"Cargo"pants, and use regular pants? You have not seen regular NYPD patrol officers in the last few years, have you?

Following on mrmeaner's comments, all I could add is more sarcasm. This time, I won't.

Historical note: What are now called Air Cabin or In Flight attendants, formerly "Stewardesses", used to be required to be Registered Nurses, and didn't actually fly, instead, they'd check on passengers (patients?) at each airport stop the plane made.

Dancin' In the Moonlight (I forgot who the artist was) (Does this style make things a little better, Lone Star?)

RuffEMS has illustrated one of my mantras, that of: Balance the need for the speed with a ride that's a glide. Also, leave driving Warp 7 to Tom Paris, Data, Hecaru Sulu and Pavel Andrevitch Chekov, as the Enterprise(es) and Voyager are supposed to travel that speed, not your ambulance. ERDoc, with room for interpretation, it is my understanding that the Right hand lane is for slower traffic on multi-lane roads, so if you were attempting rapid travel in the Left lane, more likely they would not be passing you, or at least they shouldn't be. Then, again, I have been on the westbound "Belt" Parkway, in the center lane at 3 AM, and been passed on both sides by cars traveling so fast, actually racing, I might have been parked, instead of travelling at 80 MPH under L&S.

Jess, Dr House seems to be strobing, not blinking or flashing, so what does THAT mean?

FDNY states in it's ops orders, no department vehicle is allowed to go more than 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit, and none are to go faster than 50 miles per hour. There are no roads within New York City posted at more than 50, however, there are 65 MPH roads in other areas of New York State.

I might have mentioned this in a different string. Working a Facility Transfer Ambulance (this the new phrase?) one frozen midnight, my partner and I went to a Dunkin Donut store for coffee. A prostitute came in, walked up to my partner, and said, "My vagina is cold (she used more of a street term, not a medical one), could you warm it up for me?" My partner replied, "If I do, I am going to have to charge you, as I am a professional!" Everyone in the donut store broke out in laughter, and the prostitute fled back to the streets in embarrassment.